


Catwalk

by thatkidfrombrooklyn



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cats, Fluff, Kinda, M/M, Neighbors, Strangers to Lovers, Wholesome, i mean yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 11:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17786552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatkidfrombrooklyn/pseuds/thatkidfrombrooklyn
Summary: Steve has a cat, he thinks he's the only one who walks a cat. Apparently not.





	Catwalk

**Author's Note:**

> happy valentine's day, lovies <333
> 
> (apologies for any grammar/spelling mistakes yadayada)

Max, a stocky cat with long orange hairs covering everywhere except patches over her petite nose and her soft paws, trotted along the sidewalk as Steve held on to her at the other end of the leash. Steve had always wanted a cat, as long as he can remember. Forcing his parents to follow him in to the pet shop a block or so from their house, he always ran in to look at the “ _missing pet_ ” or “ _kittens for sale_ ” pieces of printed paper nailed to the cork bulletin board. Always an expectant look from Steve, always the same shake of the head from his mother. He had to wait eleven (eleven!!!) years until he could call himself a _true_ parent, aka a _cat parent._

He’d been training his rusty red bolt of hair for a couple of months now. Small apartments and jolly cats aren't the best together. If Steve didn’t want his wall absolutely torn to shreds, he had to take her out on walks. At first he was skeptical to the idea. Walk a cat? Don’t they just like, lay down? Like on those internet videos? Apparently not. Max took to the leash and the harness like a fish to the water. She loved it. For the first time she could run around and feel the wind through her whiskers, feel the ground against her soled paws, marching on with nothing stopping her. Well, almost.

Steve laughed as Max gave him an unimpressed look. “You know, the leash isn’t _that_ long, friend. You have to slow down.” She lifted her tail up, reacting to his voice. She let out a content _trill_ and kept on walking. Steve enjoyed it as well, breathing in the warm summer air. It was quite late at night, no one was really out and about on the streets here. He could walk uninterrupted with his cat if he wanted to. That was until he saw the movement. A quick shadow in the dense bushes in front of him.

Steve narrowed his eyes and tried to get a better look at the potential interrupter. Max stood frozen with her paws heavy planted on the ground, not moving an inch. A man walked out from the bushes. A man, with a cat in his arms.

Steve watched closely, surprised to see another individual walking their cat. Someone else was walking their cat, on _his_ block?

The man wore a black, maybe navy blue t-shirt with a pair of blue, acid washed jeans and black and white sneakers. And a gray beanie. _Weird_ , Steve thought. It was summer, wasn’t it, it’s hot outside. Why would he be wearing a beani- Suddenly his eyes met the other man’s. Steve quickly shifted his gaze to the tree right beside the stranger. Smooth.

Max growled quietly. Steve felt like that was a perfect opportunity to move along without trying to start a conversation with the man. He tugged slightly on the leash. Max didn’t budge. Steve clicked his tongue and moved towards her. He swiftly tucked his hands under his cat’s belly and scooped her up from the ground. She kept her eyes on the stranger’s cat, straining against Steve’s chest a little as he tried to hold on to her. He turned around on his heels and walked back to his apartment.  
“Apologizes for the short walk but that’s all you’ll get tonight.” Max pushed up against Steve’s hand as he petted her. He thought about the man with the cat against his chest. Steve pursed his lips. At least it’s just a one-time thing.

-

Steve met the other man again. He was walking his cat, again. Steve let out a quiet sigh. Here we go again. This time he wouldn’t back down, he was _not scared of another man walking another cat._

Max stiffened when she saw the slender, goblin-looking creature on the other side of the road. That couldn’t be a cat, could it?

Steve stared a long while at the animal in front of him. He then let his gaze flow over and scan the man again. He was wearing the same _navy-blue_ (seeing color during the day is a lot easier, apparently) t-shirt as the first time he saw the unusual pair but this time, _no beanie_. A good choice, as it was a lot hotter this time around. Without the hat on, Steve got a better look at the man. He had long, brown hair, falling in front of his face as he kept his eyes on the ground. Something Steve hadn’t noticed before in the dark was the bulky, white cast on the man’s left hand. He frowned slightly. That had to hurt. Before Steve even had begun to think of reasons why the stranger had his hand trapped in a case of plaster, he accidentally locked eyes with the man yet again. The brunet broke it off almost immediately and Steve turned his head, flustered. Jesus Christ, since when did he have to be so obvious all the time?

-

Seemed like Steve wouldn’t be the only one on the block to walk their cat anymore. The cat-walking stranger was more than a one-time thing. Day after day, week after week, Steve and the man met during their walks. No one ever said anything to the other but they certainly knew about each other’s routines. Steve kind of saw a story unfold in front of him. The cast was gone after a few weeks, showing off a smooth hand with an uneven scar across the back. And even though the man was well-built he seemed… Delicate, planning his movements closely, always. His cat, sometimes wearing a soft sweater, was brave and jumped around quite a lot. Not even Steve’s crazy cat could meet the standards of this cat, it was always flailing up and down the sidewalk. It was energetic, long legs taking it further and faster than Max could ever strut. With its slender, elongated body, a thin coat of white hairs covering the entire body except the long, brown, protruding ears it looked… Goblin-like. That was the only way Steve could describe it as. A goblin. Sometimes it would meet his gaze with its alert, dark eyes, to then keep on trotting alongside the man. It was an unusual couple but they seemed content with each other.

-

One day the man actually waved. Like full on, _waved_ towards Steve. Steve did the only thing he could think of which was wave back, _of course._ He didn’t just flop his hand around for a while and then tried to catch the escaping cat in his other. The man _did not see it_ , at least Steve tries to tell himself that. The man did definitely see it, _of course he did,_ but Steve didn’t care. _At all_. They then walked separate ways for Steve to have something to sit around and think about for the rest of the day. _Christ._

-

It was a cold and gloomy afternoon when Steve watched Max dodge every puddle on the ground. She was a cat, she knew what she was doing. It was then he heard someone walk up beside him. Max stopped in her tracks. So did Steve.

“ _’Scuse me-_ “ Steve whipped his head around. There he was, the man. Brown hair and blue eyes, _careful_ , _blue_ eyes. He seemed to search Steve’s face for some kind of reaction. “Wha-“ Steve was astounded by the events unfolding but took his given time to look up-close what the man actually looked like. _Oh, man_.  
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump.” The man _spoke. What._ Steve stared. He was pretty sure his mouth was open to but he didn’t really have the power to close it. The stranger was _breathtaking_.

The brunet continued, shrugging a little. “It’s just that, I’ve seen you walking your cat, you know. I thought I was the only one to do that sort of thing until I saw you a couple of weeks ago.” Steve nodded, unable to do anything else. His eyes fell to the ground, expecting a cat by the man’s side. The blond man snapped out of his haze. Where’s the cat?

“Where’s the goblin?!” Steve practically blurted out. The longhaired man knitted his brows together. “What?” “Uh, I mean the cat-” _Jesus Christ._ “The cat, where’s your cat, you had a cat!” The stranger seemed to catch up and smiled softly. “Yeah, she’s home right now. Poor thing is a little unwell, got her claw stuck between some planks and uh…” The man gestured in the air. Steve nodded, understanding what the man was implying. “Ah. Sorry to hear that.” The man nodded. A pause. Steve looked over at Max. She was quietly smelling the grass around a streetlight.

“I’m Bucky, by the way.” Steve hummed and looked at the man again. He had put out his hand as a greeting. Steve switched hands, placing the leash in his left hand to shake _Bucky’s._ “Steve. Nice to meet you, Bucky.” They smiled and Steve was _gone._ _Goodness, me_ , he thought. Bucky scratched the back of his head and looked as he thought about something he wanted to say. His eyes narrowed slightly, nodding towards the leash. Steve looked down at the long piece of rainbow fabric between his fingers.

“I’m sorry if this is weird _slash_ awkward but I thought I’d give it a shot, uuuh… Do you wanna get, like, a coffee or something sometime? It’s totally fine if you don’t want to I just saw your leash an-” “Yeah, why not? Sounds nice, actually.” Bucky’s eyes widened a little. He then broke out in a big grin, cheeks a little flushed. Steve mimicked the expression, color red probably burning a lot brighter on his cheeks than on the man in front of him. “Cool, we can talk like, about cats and shit,” Bucky laughed. Steve nodded, laughing along. “We’ll definitely do that, yes.” He felt a tug in his left hand. Max wanted to _move_ and move _now._ Steve shook his head, smiling. He looked over to Bucky then, cocking his head in the direction Max was headed. “You mind walking with us? You look a little lonely without your cat.”

Bucky shone up. He then squinted his eyes and smirked. “Don’t you mean _goblin_ ,” he said. Steve cackled. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just, it’s the ears, I’m sorry.” Bucky held up a hand, shaking his head. He was smiling as he explained. “Nah, it’s cool. It’s funny, do you wanna know what I named her?” Steve looked at Bucky, beginning to walk. “Of course!” Bucky followed him, catching up to walk by Steve’s side. “Osborn.” Steve shot Bucky a confused look. “As in Green Goblin.” The blond man’s eyebrows rose, mouth slightly open. “So I was _right!_ Osborn! As in a fricking _goblin_ , that’s awesome!” Bucky chuckled. “Yeah, I call her Ossie. She’s an absolute _child_!” “Well Bucky, this is Max. She’s not a child, she’s like the calmest cat I’ve ever met.” “Oh, yeah? Well, _Steve_ , why did you name her _Max_? Are you a fan of Tom Hardy, perhaps?” “Well, actually, long story short…”

 -

 

 

( _and they all lived happily ever after the end ;)_ )

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading !
> 
> find me on tumblr: dancinghannigram.tumblr.com


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